The Awami League alleged that he and Mr Zakaria openly favoured the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

'Acceptable measures'

A spokesman for the caretaker government responsible for overseeing the vote, Mahbubul Alam, said that the cabinet had made its decision because Mr Zakaria was the "bone of contention" between the rival political parties.

He said the election commission was also updating the voter list to make it free from flaws as demanded by the Awami League and its allies.

The government says troops have been deployed to stop disorder

Mr Alam said the caretaker government, headed by President Iajuddin Ahmed, now hoped that the measures would be acceptable to all political parties and they would participate in the election.

There has so far been no official reaction from the 14-party alliance led by the Awami League.

But the alliance leader, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, earlier threatened to boycott the election if their demands for electoral reforms were not fulfilled.

The alliance has also called for a nationwide general strike on Thursday to press for its demands.